Remember, a CentralTheme is not the same as AnAesop; a theme is a question, idea, topic or concept that the text explores, while an Aesop is a conclusion the author reaches about the theme. As such, you should avoid phrasing your examples as conclusions. ----* ''Manga/TwentiethCenturyBoys'': Childhood fantasies should stay as just that.* ''LightNovel/AccelWorld'' - Our emotional flaws have the potential to become our greatest strengths.* ''Anime/AfroSamurai'' - Two in one:** What is the real meaning of power?** Can revenge ever be justified?* ''Manga/AhMyGoddess'': Staying together through thick and thin.* ''Manga/{{Akira}}'': The anger and frustration of youth.* ''Anime/AngelBeats!'': No matter what tragedies have happened in life, you can always change and move on.* ''Manga/AngelDensetsu'': Never judging a book by its cover.* ''Anime/AnoNatsuDeMatteru'' - Love waits for no one.* ''Manga/AttackOnTitan'': Cruelty and beauty in the world.** Freedom/Confinement.** Whether the ends justify the means.** Comfort and power creating complacency and apathy.* ''LightNovel/{{Baccano}}'': Life is awesome. Whether or not it lasts forever.* ''LightNovel/BakaAndTestSummonTheBeasts'' - Grades are important, but friendships are priceless.* ''Manga/{{Berserk}}'': [[DespairEventHorizon Despair]] and [[DealWithTheDevil what people are willing to give up up to overcome it]].** If God exists, does man have to submit to him [[GodIsEvil no matter what?]] And can a single man [[{{Badass}} push himself]] to the point of [[RageAgainstTheHeavens stopping said God?]]** [[{{Determinator}} Never giving up]] on achieving your dreams and goals, and what doing so [[AmbitionIsEvil can really entail]].* ''Anime/BloodPlus'' - Family is made up of people who love each other in spite of their faults, not blood relations.* ''Manga/{{Bokurano}}'': What do you do with the little time left in your life?* ''Manga/BusouRenkin'': What will you do with the new life given you?* ''Anime/ChildrenWhoChaseLostVoices'': Ultimately, the living are more important than the dead.* ''Manga/{{Chobits}}'': Is man starting to prefer technology over interaction with real people?* ''Manga/ChronoCrusade'' - According to WordOfGod, "the idea of time running out." The bonds between people also seems to be a major running theme (Moriyama indicated in an interview that he felt that one of the themes was the relationship of the two main characters, and there's three pairs of siblings that are very important to the plot.)* ''LightNovel/ChuunibyouDemoKoiGaShitai'': Running away from and facing our problems, and also, the challenges of growing up.* ''VisualNovel/{{CLANNAD}}'': Family is the most important thing in life.* ''Anime/CodeGeass'' - Do the ends justify the means?** Is it always a good idea to know the truth?* ''Anime/CowboyBebop'' - You can never outrun your past. Even the SpoofAesop from episode 10 works into this concept. [[spoiler:'Don't leave things in the fridge', if you're curious.]]** ''Anime/SamuraiChamploo'', it's SpiritualSuccessor, has a similar theme. Or maybe it's "sometimes you need to let go of the past". Or some combination of both. There's also a more subtle theme on how foreign influences can effect a society.** ''Anime/CowboyBebop'', ''Anime/TheBigO'', ''Anime/{{Karas}}'' and ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' all seems to have the same central message - you can live neither by clinging to the past, nor rejecting it to blindly march towards the future. Each explores it in a different way - in ''Karas'' it takes form of conflict between tradition and progress; in ''Tiger & Bunny'' it's the clash between different brands of heroism with new ones claiming the old to be outdated as well as [[spoiler: Barnaby's breakdown once he finds out his memories are fake]]; in ''Cowboy Bebop'' it's contrast between Spike's inability to let go of his revenge, Jet's ability to confront and deal with his, and Faye's [[spoiler: problems with amnesia]]; and in ''The Big O'' it's constantly showing that even disconnected from his past, man will still build on his future on it's legacy. Apart from that, some of them have additional central themes they explore:*** ''Anime/{{Karas}}'' - the relationship between TheCowl archetype and the city he protects.*** ''Anime/TigerAndBunny'' - relationships between co-workers. Overcoming prejuices.* ''Manga/DailyLivesOfHighSchoolBoys'' - High schoolers are idiots. Reality is full of disappointments.* ''Manga/DeathNote'':** The corrupting nature of power.** It also delves pretty deeply into the idea of [[JusticeWillPrevail justice]], and its [[MightMakesRight futility]] in a world of BlackAndGrayMorality.** It's also possible to read ''Death Note'' as an exploration of [[http://mrsjeevas.deviantart.com/journal/Death-Note-All-Humans-Go-to-Mu-Nothingness-234788926 the Zen Buddhist concept of cosmic quandary]], believe it or not.* ''Manga/DetectiveConan'': Everyone deserves justice, even [[AssholeVictim someone who doesn't seem to deserve it]].* ''Manga/{{Devilman}}'': Difference between accepting your dark side and letting it control you and what happens when humans give up to their worst instincts.* ''Anime/DevilSurvivor2'': Differences between utopian utilitarism and old-fashioned idealism.* The ''Digimon'' anime franchise as a whole: as you grow up, challenging times will [[HiddenDepths reveal your true character]] and who your [[TrueCompanions real friends are.]]** ''Anime/DigimonTamers'': What is the line between fiction and reality? and What is the price of technology?** ''Anime/DigimonSavers'': What truly makes a man a man?* ''Manga/{{Dorohedoro}}'': Everyone has a bad side. The question is whether you let that be the side in charge.* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'':** The series gets a lot of flak for its SortingAlgorithmOfEvil, but Self Improvement IS the main theme of the series. "Just because you can blow up a planet, you shouldn't declare yourself [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jpkeAQG6kQw perfect]]; there is [[AlwaysSomeoneBetter always someone out there better]], so never stop trying to better yourself."** Forgiveness and redemption is also a central theme as seen with all the reformed villains.* ''Anime/EurekaSeven'': Love overcomes war.* ''Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar'': Does might always make right?* ''Manga/FruitsBasket'': Change is hard, but necessary.* ''Manga/FullmetalAlchemist'':** EquivalentExchange.** ThingsManWasNotMeantToKnow.** [[AGodAmI Human beings (or human-like entitites) reaching for godhood and the price of power.]]** [[ThePowerOfFriendship The power of one person vs the support his friends provide him]].** Accepting loss.** WarIsHell.** From the [[Anime/FullmetalAlchemist 2003 anime version]] especially, the value of life and one's soul.* ''Manga/FushigiYuugi'': How a journey changes heroes and the people left behind.* ''Manga/GetBackers'': Paul Wan himself states the centrl theme in volume 2 of the manga "...Money, ststus, ars jewelry, lovers, anything worth having is worth someone else stealing. It's how it is, and how it always will be.. If someone takes something important from you, then be sure you take it back. But don't look for happiness in material goods, cause the thing that truly bonds us with one another is the fact that we've all lost things we'll never recover.* ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'' - What does it mean to be human?* ''Manga/GiantRobo: The Day The Earth Stood Still'' - Can happiness be achieved without sacrifice? How can a son honor his father's legacy?* ''Manga/GetterRobo'': The series, as whole, is about humanity's [[TheDeterminator ability to press foward no matter what]], exploring both good and bad side of it.* ''Manga/GoldenBoy'': Never underestimating an idealist.* ''Manga/GreatTeacherOnizuka'': Teachers and students are not meant to be enemies.* ''Anime/GuiltyCrown'' - How filthy can one's hands get while fighting for the greater good? At what point does a hero become the villain? Also explores trust vs. betrayal, despair vs. courage, and strength vs. weakness.* ''Anime/GunXSword'': Which is more important: world peace, universal contentment, and the common good, or the freedom of the individual to pursue happiness according to his or her individual dreams and desires?* ''Anime/TengenToppaGurrenLagann'':** [[BeyondTheImpossible Doing things that are impossible.]]** Evolution and growth.* ''LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya'': Every day is an adventure as long as you are with friends.* ''LightNovel/TheDevilIsAPartTimer'' - Can true evil even hope to thrive in the current day and age?* ''Anime/HellGirl'': Is it possible to hate someone so much that you would sacrifice everything you are and everything you will become to destroy them?* ''VisualNovel/HigurashiWhenTheyCry'': Don't ever distrust your friends. No matter what you're going through, ThePowerOfFriendship can save you.* ''Literature/{{Hyouka}}'' - What constitutes as a "rose-colored life"? Is our current situation fine? Is there something we want more?* ''Manga/InuYasha'': Choices. Everyone sooner or later must make one.* ''Franchise/{{Jewelpet}}'' (first season): One must learn to let go of their childhood ideals and remember that reality is never simple.** ''Jewelpet Twinkle'': You can have a strong will and help people even if you're the shiest person in the world.** ''Jewelpet Sunshine'': High school is the best time of one's life.** ''Jewelpet Kira Deco'': Learning to let go of past grievances is the key to maturing.* ''Manga/JojosBizarreAdventure'': There is nothing more powerful than [[TheDeterminator the will to keep going]], even in the face of impossible obstacles.* ''Manga/KatekyoHitmanReborn'': Reaching out to family and friends can bring the best out of each other.* ''Anime/KidouTenshiAngelicLayer'': Not everything has to be SeriousBusiness.* ''Anime/KikisDeliveryService'' - Growing up isn't so bad; in fact, it can be wonderful.* ''Manga/KindaichiCaseFiles'': The central theme varies between volumes but the main one that stretches around the entire series is no matter how someone has wronged you in the most horrific way possible, murder is never the solution.* ''LightNovel/KinosJourney'' - Is there any underlying point to the stories, any unifying concept? Perhaps. It could be seen as an extended lesson in the law of unintended consequences.** Creator/HLMencken said, there is always an easy solution to every human problem: neat, plausible, and wrong. That is really the theme of this series. Each place that Kino visits, there was a problem which was solved by adoption of a solution which was neat and plausible and far too simplistic. And in each case we eventually learn why the chosen solution was wrong.* ''LightNovel/KokoroConnect'' - [[TheyreCalledPersonalIssuesForAReason Hiding]] and [[IAmWhatIAm accepting our flaws]], and ThePowerOfTrust.* ''Manga/KOn'' - Work hard, play harder.* ''Manga/KotouraSan'':** TrueCompanions will never leave you, even when [[AllOfTheOtherReindeer everyone else]] ([[IHaveNoSon including your parents]]) would. ** Don't let jealous, two-faced people determine who you are just because you are special and [[HonestAdvisor honest with yourself as much as others]].* ''Manga/KoufukuGraffiti'': The experience of food is better if shared.* ''Manga/LoveHina'' - Can you hold onto your childhood dream even as you grow up?* ''Franchise/LyricalNanoha'': As [[http://okazu.blogspot.com/ Erica Friedman]] notes, [[http://okazu.blogspot.com/2012/03/concept-of-family-in-magical-girl.html the entire Nanoha-verse is the story of creating one's family for one's self]]. Family is something beyond just the community one is born into; it is something one forms and gathers out of love as one moves through life. Beyond that, individual seasons have their own central themes:** ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanoha'': Self-determination, standing up for oneself.** ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaAs'': How much of yourself will you sacrifice to protect what you love?** ''Anime/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaStrikerS'': Parent-child relationships, the importance of PassingTheTorch.** ''Manga/MagicalGirlLyricalNanohaViVid'': Memory, dreams of youth.** ''Manga/MagicalRecordLyricalNanohaForce'': What makes a family ([[NatureVersusNurture emotional bonds vs. biological sameness]]), a [[TerminallyDependentSociety civilization's overreliance]] on a particular kind of AppliedPhlebotinum.* ''Manga/MagicKnightRayearth'': No person, no matter how strong, can do everything by themselves.* ''Manga/{{Monster}}'' - Can any human being be considered a monster, beyond redemption? Is it wrong to take a life, even to save others? It explores these questions right to the logical conclusion, then leaves it to the viewer to figure it out.* ''Anime/MobileSuitGundam'': WarIsHell. There are good people on both sides of a conflict. People can't just sit on the sidelines during war. Tyranny and hatred must be fought by compassion. There can be no real peace without understanding. Many of the series both in the Universal Century and Alternate Universes tackle most of these themes.** ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'': Is it possible to understand each other through fighting?* ''Manga/MyBrideIsAMermaid'': Loneliness.* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' - It starts out seeming like a straight ToBeAMaster series but later two major themes emerge: "No matter how much pain you endure, things will get better if you don't turn your back on the world" and "Your family's legacy will always be a part of you". With the second in mind it also deals heavily with the CycleOfRevenge, which can only be broken through the first theme. Most evil characters have had terrible pasts and wish to either get revenge, run away, or restart the world from scratch, and Naruto redeems them because too has had a terrible past but his drive and love have seen him through to brighter days. Oh and he is well on his way to being a master after all because of it.* ''Manga/{{Narutaru}}'': What happens when people abuse power given to them.* ''Manga/NausicaaOfTheValleyOfTheWind'' - It is better to try to understand what we do not know about rather than to fight against it.* ''Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion'' is a 26 episode critique of the Otaku lifestyle and deconstruction of the conventions of HumongousMecha anime, while ironically setting new conventions to replace the old.** Responsibility and how people deal with it.** Love is also a major theme; all the characters are motivated by a desire to love, and be loved in return.** Interpersonal relationships in general, how people unavoidably hurt each-other through them and why one still shouldn't try to [[ArcWords run away from them]]. This includes the above mentioned themes of responsibility and love.** YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre* ''Manga/{{Oishinbo}}'': Trying new things, broadening your horizons, and going out of your comfort zone. Also, appreciating one's own culture and traditions without being held back by it.* ''Manga/OnePiece'': Hereditary and family: who you're born to vs who you choose.** Whether it's a crime merely to exist, and whether or not someone "is born in this world to be alone."** What is Justice?** [[ItsTheJourneyThatCounts Journey vs Destination]]** [[ArcWords Inherited Will]]* ''Manga/OutlawStar'' - Summed up in the opening dialogues of each episode, and the series as a whole in the second episode and in the great Creator/{{Toonami}} promo [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfadJj4d5K4 Dreams]]. In short, there's a whole universe of possibilities, opportunity, and adventure waiting for you to fulfill your dreams. You can't let your fear stop you from pursuing those dreams. Going on this journey, to fulfill childhood dreams, is a necessary part of becoming an adult.--> ''A boy has the right to dream. There are endless possibilities stretched out before him. What awaits him down the path, he will then have to choose. The boy doesn’t always know. At some point the boy becomes an adult and learns what he is able to become. Joy and sadness forever will accompany this. He is confronted with a choice. When this happens as he bids his past farewell in his heart. Once a boy becomes an adult he can no longer go back to being a boy. The boy is now a man. Only one thing can be said, “A boy has the right to dream.” For those endless possibilities are stretched out before him. We must always remember, all men where once boys…"** In addition to that, there is also the theme of freedom, of being independent from any larger group or entity, which is what it means to be an outlaw within the universe of the show. Gene Starwind and his crew's loyalty are only to each other as they deal with both planetary governments and pirate guilds.* ''Anime/ParanoiaAgent'' - You can't be a child forever.* ''LightNovel/ThePetGirlOfSakurasou'' - Always seek to better yourself, and never give up, even when you fail.* ''Anime/{{Planetes}}'': Love (Tanabe) versus ambition (Hachimaki). (More pronounced in the manga than the anime.)* ''Manga/PleaseSaveMyEarth'': What happened in the past informs our decisions, and that's it; history only repeats itself if we let it. (Or as xkcd put it: "the past is just practice".)* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'': Striving to be the best in whatever one does.* ''Popotan'': Parting from friends is a natural part of life, but friendships can still live on in memories. Quite similar to the above mentioned ''Anime/SonicX'', in that regard.* ''Anime/PrettySammy'': [[BeneathTheMask Hiding our true feelings is bad]] and the PowerOfLove/[[PowerOfFriendship Friendship]].* ''Anime/PrincessMononoke'' - Can there be peace between man and nature?* ''Anime/PrincessTutu'' - You can control your own destiny, no matter your situation.* ''Anime/PsychoPass'' - How far will we go to prevent crime and keep society in order?* ''Anime/PuellaMagiMadokaMagica'': Altruism is about paying the price, not reaping the rewards.** Don't rush into decisions without thinking; always ReadTheFinePrint.* ''Manga/RanmaOneHalf'': Duality. The face one shows to the world and the other kept hidden.* ''Anime/RevolutionaryGirlUtena'': Is it possible to be both an archetypal prince and female at the same time? Can someone like Utena who wants to be a "prince" also yearn for her own prince without contradicting herself?* ''Anime/RinneNoLagrange'': Growing up.* ''VisualNovel/RoboticsNotes'' - Family, and loved ones who are like family. There is nothing more important.* ''Manga/RosarioToVampire'' has a few. TrueCompanions are a great thing to have when going through the bad times. Nothing is always what it seems. Love can still be strong even if it is only platonic. Love is also about putting others above your own needs.* ''Manga/RurouniKenshin'': Atoning for past mistakes.** Also redemption, and the [[ThouShaltNotKill restraint]] and [[TheDeterminator resolve]] it takes to maintain it.* ''Manga/SailorMoon'': Evil may never die but neither do the ones who fight it, believe in the power of love and friendship to overcome all odds.** ''Series/PrettyGuardianSailorMoon'': [[ScrewDestiny The future is not set in stone]].* ''VisualNovel/SchoolDays'': The things, ''terrible things'', [[LoveMakesYouEvil people will do for love]].* ''Manga/SchoolRumble'': Your life can be changed by [[OddFriendship someone you never expected]].* ''Anime/SerialExperimentsLain'' is at is core, an exploration of the impact of the information age on the human soul. At a time when the internet was only just getting off, it foretold a future where Everything is Connected. It explores the concept of a Technological [[TheSingularity singularity]], "Close the World, Open the Next".* ''Anime/SonicX'' - While there is no real overarching theme, in the first season one message conveyed seems to be that friendship can last forever, even if two friends are apart.* ''VisualNovel/SteinsGate'' - What are you willing to do for the people you love? What are you prepared to sacrifice?* ''LightNovel/SwordArtOnline'' - Friendship and love transcend virtual reality.* ''LightNovel/{{Toradora}}'' - Love can be right under our noses.* ''Anime/TowaNoQuon'': It is our emotions that make us human.* ''Manga/{{Trigun}}'' is about the plausibility of [[ActualPacifist true pacifism]], especially in a very harsh and inhospitable world. This is best exemplified by the analogy in the anime of a butterfly caught in a spider's web: the Plants, a race of engineered [[WingedHumanoid Winged Humanoids]] represent the butterflies, as they are enslaved by the humans in order to make the planet habitable. [[BigBad Knives']] plan is to wipe out the humans/spiders and save the Plants/butterflies, whereas Vash's hope is to come up with an alternative that allows everyone to coexist.* ''Anime/UmiMonogatari'': Everyone has some darkness in them. That's normal, and throwing it away makes things worse--it's best to accept it.* ''Anime/UnGo'' - When truth collides with good of the society, which is more important?* ''Anime/VoicesOfADistantStar'' - Does physical distance matter for two people in love? What if she's in another city? Country? Continent? Star System? Einstein said "The great distances between the stars is nothing compared to the infinite distance between human hearts", and this movie tries to prove him dead wrong.* ''Manga/WeddingPeach'': The reconciliation of the good and evil that resides in everyone.** Transformation, destruction and creation.** The failure and breakdown of systems of authority.* ''Anime/WelcomeToTheNHK'': It's easy to feel lonely and worthless but it doesn't have to be that way.** Just surviving and actually living aren't the same thing, and to do the former is as good as being dead.* ''Manga/WolfsRain'': Evil will always exist.* ''LightNovel/YahariOreNoSeishunLoveComeWaMachigatteiru'' - Optimism vs cynicism. Can a bitter soul still do good?* ''Manga/{{Zetman}}'': If there are no easy solutions is real heroism possible?